Death of the Ayn Rand Scholar: Mystery

by Gray Cavender

  “Hmm…I see what you mean.” Wes re-read those passages in the emails again. He was about to speak, but instead, read on further, and then said, “So, Davidos’ next response is to tell the professor that he’ll ask John Hawley to work her in for 30 minutes sometime next week. Hawley…he’s our contact guy with Davidos…guess he’s the keeper of the Prez’s schedule.”

  Wes thought again, initially with his chin cupped in his hand. Then, he crossed his arms, leaned back in his chair and said, “You’re right, Jilly, this is interesting stuff. Of course, when you read what each of them said, it seems like it’s Professor Siemens who’s being suggestive...as if she’s trying to get something going…but leaving a space, covering her tracks in case the Prez isn’t interested. And in terms of the word, ‘stimulating,’ literally a space...make that two spaces,” he said and laughed.

  “I think you’re right on both counts. She’s trying to suggestive, but carefully…and President Davidos is friendly but professional.”

  “Of course, Al said maybe the Prez was too smart to get caught, which could mean that he was smart enough not to put something incriminating in an email…or a text.”

  “So, do we interview President Davidos again?”

  “Oh yeah,” Wes answered immediately. “If for no other reason than he was vague at first about even knowing the professor. And now this business,” he said, pointing to the print-outs.”

  “Maybe we can use as a justification that we’re giving him an update on the investigation.”

  “Yeah, that’s good, but I don’t want to totally ambush him. I’ll go through Hawley to set it up for us. I’ll tell him that a part of the update to the Prez involves the forensics report on Professor Siemens’ electronic devices. That way, if the Prez thinks he’s compromised, he can stew on it. It’ll be interesting to see how he reacts.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “The other thing I meant to ask…so, when Siemens and Keefer were flying back from Montreal, I wonder if there were any travel changes for either of them. Could you check with Grace Wilson?”

  “Already did. The answer is ‘no changes.’ They flew to Montreal on different flights. They did return on the same flight. For both of them, though, the return flight had already been booked and was noted in their original travel requests. Also, their seats were not together…at least not in terms of pre-assigned seats. Guess they could have changed to sit together, but I can’t tell from these records.”

  “OK, OK,” Wes nodded. “So, we’re definitely going to be re-interviewing President Davidos and also David Roberts...he was misleading, too. But I think you said three threads?”

  Jillian nodded a quiet “yes.” She scooted the Davidos print-outs back to her original side of the table, and pulled across two other pages, which she turned so that she and Wes could read them.

  Her lips tightened into a thin line. “The third thread is a very brief email exchange between Professor Siemens and Professor Ian Naremore.”

  Wes made no overt expression, just shifted his gaze from the print-outs to look at Jillian. He offered a slight smile and said, “Let’s hear it.”

  Jillian took a short breath and said, “OK, so first there’s an email from Professor Siemens to Professor Naremore, saying, quote, ‘I know what you are doing and I assure you that you will not get away with it…this I promise.’ That’s it: no salutation, just those few words I quoted. She doesn’t say what it is that she thinks he’s doing or how she knows about it…whatever ‘it’ is. Professor Naremore’s response does have a salutation. It reads, ‘Dear Venture Capitalist, no, make that VULTURE Capitalist. Do not try to threaten me Nelda. You are nothing more than a running dog lackey, and lap dogs don’t scare me.’”

  “What’s that mean?”

  “According to Google, it’s an insult that originated in China, apparently long ago. It means someone who has no backbone, who’s always flattering powerful people, trying to get in their good graces.”

  “And why would Narmmore use the term on Siemens?”

  “I think he meant that she was always trying to ingratiate herself to powerful people. Obviously, in terms of the Civism Foundation…that was a real payday for her. And also…maybe her emails to President Davidos. Maybe she was trying to hook-up with him, but whether or not she was trying to do that, she makes those comments about how great he’s made ASU. And remember, Grace Wilson said she thought that ASU was beneath her.”

  Jillian thought for a second, then added, “Grace actually told me that Professor Siemens was very tough on people who she thought were less than her—students and faculty—but acted totally different with those who were above her.”

  “Yeah, I remember you saying that.”

  “Professor Naremore thought that Professor Siemens was a sell-out. I didn’t know anything about the Civism Foundation, but when I Googled her before, I recognized a lot of very conservative organizations where she is a board member or an affiliate…and these are all well paid positions. I assume that’s Professor Naremore used the term.”

  Wes glanced back to the print-out and now read aloud himself. “Professor Siemens responds…’You are warned.’ And Naremore responds, ‘Back at you.’ So, I guess we’ll be adding Professor Naremore to our list.” Wes gave Jillian another slight smile. “That makes three people: President Jaques Davidos; Professor David Roberts; Professor Ian Naremore.”

  Jillian nodded, again with a thin smile.

  CHAPTER 13

  Jillian left Temp PD at 5:20, which gave her plenty of time to meet Eileen Kaplan for dinner at 5:30. She walked down 5th, past Tempe City Hall, the upside-down pyramid on her left. She was headed to Restaurant Mexico on Mill Avenue. As she walked, she mentally replayed their review of the forensics report on Professor Siemens’ electronic devices.

  After they’d discussed the various findings from the forensic report and what they might mean for their investigation, she and Wes started arraigning the follow-up interviews. She sat in Wes’ office as he made the calls from his desk phone. He’d first called President Davidos—actually his assistant, John Hawley. Hawley had grilled Wes about the purpose of the meeting. As planned, Wes reminded Hawley that President Davidos had asked to be kept informed about their progress on the case. He told Hawley that they’d now received the forensic work-up on Professor Siemens’ electronic devices, which had revealed some information that they wanted to discuss with the president…in person.

  After the call, Wes said, “Hawley obviously was trying to act as an intermediary…trying to deflect an actual sit-down with the Prez. But that last comment about needing a one-on-one because of the forensic report…that shut him down. He said, ‘I see.’ He worked us in tomorrow at 4:30.”

  David Roberts was next. When he rang off, Wes said “Roberts had barked a little, too, but also ‘went quiet’ when I mentioned the forensics report. At that at that point, Roberts said, ‘OK,” and his tone changed…like maybe a little down or a little leery…couldn’t tell which. Finally, Roberts said, ‘If it’s convenient, I can be available tomorrow at either 9:30 or after lunch, at 1pm.’ I told him…well you heard…we’ll be at his office at 9:30.”

  Naremore was the final call. Afterward, Wes said, “Naremore was pretty prickly, too, at first, but when I mentioned the forensics report on the Professor’s electronic devices, he went ‘hmm,’ got quiet, and I could hear him flipping through some papers…probably his calendar. Then he said, ‘I’m in Tucson at the U of A giving a colloquium tomorrow, but I can meet day after tomorrow.’ He wanted to know if you’d be there, too, and seemed relieved when I said you would be. He said he had a morning class and then a faculty meeting.’ So we’re on with him at 2pm.”

  Wes said, “All three of these guys changed their tune after I mentioned the forensics report. Guess they’re all smart enough to know that the report is maybe a little damning…that they ought to be putting their best
foot forward.”

  Having set the schedule for the next round of interviews, Wes and Jillian had spent a few minutes discussing how they’d handle Davidos and Roberts tomorrow. Afterward, that was it for the day. Wes left for two back-to-back meetings

  The first meeting with was with Stu Kostelac. Wes told Jillian, “Stu said you didn’t need to be there…it’s a general Homicide Division meeting…it’ll include updates on all current investigations. When our case comes up, I’ll brief everyone. Knowing Stu, he’ll view our second round of interviews as an indication of progress.”

  “So, I shouldn’t go?”

  “No, no…it’s our weekly meeting…already scheduled.”

  “And you don’t think he has it in for me?”

  “No. Like I told you, Stu thinks this is all a part of some career master plan on your part…which he admires…that’s the kind of guy he is. He just wants to hear that we’re making headway on the case.”

  “And your second meeting?”

  “That’s with the Chief. I want to brief her on our progress, and especially on a second interview with President Davidos. She’ll be OK with it, but I just want to give her a heads-up.”

  Jillian said she’d call Al, her chief, and do the same thing. She knew that Wes’ visit with Chief McCaslin was more than just the usual case update, even with an upcoming interview with President Davidos. Wes was like a member of Chief McCaslin’s unofficial kitchen cabinet of advisors. Jillian remembered that it was a discussion between the Chief and Wes that had resulted in her shift from the Research Division to becoming a detective.

  Al just whistled when Jillian called and told him about the second meeting with President Davidos. But he was complementary when she gave him the high points of what they’d learned from the forensics report. “Sounds like you and Wes are starting to move…starting to narrow things down. Once you do that, you’ll have a better picture of the lay of the land. Keep your eyes open, Jillian…things will start speeding-up.”

  Before she rang-off, Jillian told Al that she was having dinner with a friend at Restaurant Mexico. She knew that Al liked to eat there. He told her that back when he was a rookie patrol officer, it was his favorite place restaurant. “The food was good and I could afford it,” he said.

  “Same for me,” Jillian answered. “Lots of students eat there.”

  “Course, during the time I’m talking about, they had a different location.”

  “Really?”

  “They’ve a Tempe institution. As a matter of fact, the place where I ate when I was a rookie wasn’t their first location either. They’ve been all over downtown Tempe. So enjoy, Jillian. Oh yeah, and in terms of the case, like I said, stay alert.”

  Jillian didn’t remember Restaurant Mexico’s former location. Still, she knew that the landscape of downtown Tempe was changing…and fast. It wasn’t just the usual flux of new businesses replacing former businesses…it was much more. Entire city blocks were being razed, replaced as often as not by high rise apartments with businesses on the ground floor. More and more these days, if Jillian wanted to enjoy Tempe’s urban vista, she found herself looking up.

  She turned right onto Mill Avenue. Al had called Restaurant Mexico ‘a Tempe institution.’ This would be a real downtown Tempe evening, she thought. She and Eileen had planned that after dinner, they’d walk the short distance to the Valley Art Theater, another Tempe institution, to catch a movie.

  Eileen was seated in a booth when Jillian entered. She was facing Mill Avenue so she saw Jillian and waved as soon as she entered the restaurant. There were already two glasses of water and two menus on the table along with chips and salsa.

  Eileen rose and they hugged.

  Jillian slid into the booth and immediately took a big pull of water, and said, “It is so hot out there. I don’t know if the summers are getting hotter or if they just last longer. Whatever…this is brutal.”

  “Tell me about it. I’m parked over behind The Centerpoint, and broke out in a sweat just walking over here. By the way, I’ve ordered a couple of Modelos.”

  “Thank you.” Jillian smiled, picked-up the menu, but immediately put it down. “I don’t know why I’m bothering to read this, I know what I’m going to have.”

  Before Eileen could reply, a waitress approached with their beers and two small glasses with lime wedges on the rim. She looked at Jillian and said, “I know you just got here…do you need more time?”

  “No, I’m good. I’ll have two cheese enchiladas with rice and beans.”

  Eileen ordered a Clare Burro with rice.

  When the waitress left, Jillian said, “I’m glad you called, Eileen. We’ve really been pushing on our investigation and I think I needed a night out just to clear my head. These things get so intense…it’s hard to unwind in the evening.”

  They each poured half a glass of beer and toasted.

  “I’ll bet. So, Jillian, level with me—I can keep a secret—when I read The Republic in the morning, will it report that you and your partner have cracked the case and made a key arrest?”

  Jillian laughed. “I wish…” She shook her head. “Not yet anyway, but we’re not butting our heads against a brick wall, either. Do your students follow stories like this?”

  “Some, not so much...they’re totally self-absorbed and lost in teen angst. Others, yeah. Because I teach social studies, I get them to discuss all kinds of current issues, from national and international events to local things, too. And some of those who are college-bound keep up with what happens on campus. That’s understandable because a lot of them will go to ASU. Plus, your campus is only about a mile from our campus, so it’s in the hood.”

  “OK, speaking of your campus, what’s up at Tempe High? How’s it going with your feminist sci-fi club?”

  “It is wunderbar. At the risk of sounding like I’m bragging, I’m sooo glad that I thought of it. I joked about some of my kids being self-absorbed, but it really is a tough time of life for them. They have gender role problems, raging hormones, pressure from parents and from peers…all that kind of grief. And in the midst of all this craziness, my science fiction club actually gets them out of themselves. I guess it’s a distraction…lets them focus on things that they would otherwise never go near.”

  “That’s great, Eileen. So, what kind of projects are they doing?”

  She giggled. “OK, so their assignment for the last ten days has been to write a short story. The only directives are that it has to be sci-fi, of course, and it has to address gender issues. They turned them in last Friday so I’ve been reading them…I’m having a blast.”

  “A short story…that’s a lot, isn’t it? Are they good?”

  “Yes, it is a lot. But don’t forget, even though the club is an extra-curricular activity, they are getting credit for it.”

  “So, in other words, it counts.”

  “Which is why they take it seriously. And some of their stories are pretty good. A few of them did gender role switching, which is sorta predictable, although some did it better than others. A couple of stories deal with time travel. This is a great way for them to deal with gender issues because they have two different perspectives: now and in the past. One student had a person from the 1950s come forward to today; another one had a girl from today go back to the time of The Civil War.”

  “Wow, that’s pretty creative.”

  “Yes. My favorite—so far—is a girl who has created a cat universe.”

  “A cat universe?” She shook her head in disbelief.

  ‘Yes, and it’s awesome. What makes it so good is that it’s funny. And the humor is not on the surface…it’s woven into the narrative…it’s just really creative.”

  “You really love your job, don’t you, Eileen?”

  “I do. It’s incredible being around young people. But mostly, it’s being able to pull things out of them that
they didn’t know they could do. And, at the same time, I get them to think about important social issues. I mean, they engage…you just have to figure a way ‘in’ to their consciousness.”

  “Growing up, I always heard stories like this from my mom. She loved being a teacher, too.”

  “That’s right, I’m so used to her being an administrator that I forgot.”

  “I’m so glad you chose this career. Speaking for the entire society, thank you, Eileen,” she said and laughed and toasted her friend.

  “Thank you, thank you very much,” Eileen said and gave a mock bow. “So enough about life among the Buffaloes, how ‘bout you? I know you have to speak in generalities, but how IS the investigation going.”

  “We’re doing fine. Today, we got the forensics report on Professor Siemens’ electronic devices. It was interesting to say the least. The information that was in the report is guiding us to our next phase…more targeted interviews. So no, don’t look for arrests in tomorrow’s paper, but we are really narrowing the field…I think.” She laughed and took a sip of beer.

  “And you’re back on campus. How’s that feel?”

  “A little strange…and great at the same time. I have seen some of our old professors…Carolyn Patek, Ian Narmore, and ZZ.”

  “Oh no, they aren’t suspects are they?”

  “With Carolyn, I just wanted to touch base. I haven’t seen her in a while, although she did actually know Professor Siemens, the victim…at least a little. And with ZZ, I wanted to visit her, too, for fun. But, I did have some questions to ask her…background stuff about Professor Siemens, the victim.”

  “How is ZZ? I loved her class.”

  “She’s doing great. She’s working on a new project…but I’m sworn to secrecy.”

  “Come on give. Have some more beer.”